Story Thread
An Auspicious Beginning A group of adventures are shipwrecked on an island. They form a strong bond battling and survinging together. Living in the unforgiving wilds. After exploring the island and unlocking a few of its secrets, the party embarks on a mission through a mysterious portal in order to save their friend Gnogg "The Gnoble". Enter the Mad Realm 1. The Darkened Temple The party set out following Gnoggs footprints up to a small farm built at the mouth of a cave, there they met Elora, a slyph witch who having just lost her teacher, the scholar Torin to an apparent suicide was as upset as anyone might have ever seen a slyph be (which is mildly). The party moved on, with elroa and journeyed into the cave where they found an anti chamber protected by runespells. The anceint orb that holds the soul of a demon is found missing from its pedestal in the center of the room, Elora presumes that Gnoggs contact with the orb has transported the gnoll and orb into the realm where the demons corporeal form still exists. Elora uses a runestone to open a portal to "the mad realm" and the party entered to find themselves stranded on platforms hanging in the darkness. The party disturbs a ritual sacrifice being preformed by two gargoyles and break the spells components freeing their victim, Iii a ratfolk monster trainer. When the gargoyles get bored and leave the platforms disappear and the party plummeted through the darkness and were attacked by nether rays as they fell. After defeating the beasts the party fell into a pool in the center of the "temple of keo the mad". The party finds gnogg locked in a trance with the orb in an apparent battle of wills with the mad king. The door (sealed with 7 cliches) despite Wii (the flail snails) best efforts the door remained sealed. the party exits the temple through the front triggering the security system. thanks to the quick work of Elora extinguishing the candles the elemental are stopped and Wii is freed from being pulled into a blackhole. Ariel accidentally frees a viper from its stone prison and the pair bond with each other adding to each other strengths. the party continues into the foyer, aggressively, and disturb Galeru, a small dragon who, having been stolen from his homeland had escaped the cultists living nearby and hid in the safety of the temple beyond the villages runes that the cultists fear crossing. The party chases Galeru into the small village outside the temple where their conflict runs them into a very surprised captain; the "famed" swashbuckler Ludicrous Luke. Luke who seems to being going a little insane offers to help the party "find their lost abacus or whatever" in return for their help in liberating his crew and sail from the cultist camp over the hill. a mission that fills Galeru with hope for in that same camp lies the the stolen eggs of his village. That evening: Naraiz: in conversation with Ariel and trellix points out that Luke seems to have no concept of time, and he himself feels as though time is being warped somehow in addition to it being hard to tell what time it is with no sun or moon available. Trellix: Notices a large dim crack across the black sky, it doesnt give off much light but must be the source of light energy that the plants in this realm use to grow. Ariel: communes with the viper, who confirms that time is being manipulated by some kind of arcane magic, this is a new development in the madrealm and wasnt the case when the snake was imprisoned in the temple by the villagers who used to live in this town for the crime of striking one of the workers who planted crops in the old fields outside the village. Galeru: feels a little safty for the first time in weeks, and prepares for tomorrows journey back into the cultists camp to save his familys eggs. He prepares 8 steamed buns (each granting 1 hp). Elora: Communes with her familiar in deciphering some of the runes on Torin's journal which has sealed itself since the party entered the mad realm. she manages to gain an understanding of a few of the runes and when she applies her magic to them the book opens to a page in the book, that explains the nature of many of the runes that where in both the temple on smugglars shiv and herein the mad realm. Elora learns that these are spells, null magic, protection from evil, binding, and travel. The page also mentions that should the "gharstone" be touched by weak willed hands the seals will be deteriorated enough for the mad king to pull his soul back to his body using the life force of the summoner to bind with his lost soul. Iii: Bumps into luke as he moves back and forth between his ship "the pity's pride" working on some of the strange machinery ther-in. Iii-"You say no one comes here by accident, yet im not even sure where i am, how do we get out of this place?" luke- "well, you know there are ways, over here and there, most of them involve incantations the utilize the "madrunes" perhaps you sqeeked the wrong thing in a place you shouldn't have been, kind of like what happened to my when i docked here. That's to say noisy people aren't careful people." Iii- "so how did you survive these cultists who attacked" luke-"Maybe, im a talented sneaky fellah with bags full of tricks so big they dont even fit in my sleeves, also entering the cairn circle helps, they hate that thing... this place." Iii- "yeah whats up with this place?" luke- "well, there's that huge horrifying temple up there! i try not to look at it. give me the willies. but i know it used to be protected by the people who used to live in this village, they were descended from the hero who sealed the mad king in there i think, left behind, ever watchful.. i dont know... a uhh long time, ago. I met the villagers when i was a child, but when i came back they were all gone." Iii- "what is that device your working on?" luke-"that? you know im not totally sure but i think it either controls the firmness of my bed or holds the ship upright..." Iii- "...and that weapon?" luke- "pretty proud of this one! it only fires once, but its big once." the gun clicks hums and churns in his hand" Iii- "who knows when you might need such an item". luke- "I KNOW RIGHT! good eye ratatat, im very busy so i bid you a good night." he smiles and stares at Iii with a kind of crazed twitch in his eye. Iii annoyed at being called ratatat quitely grumbles and walks away. luke "sweet dreams, monstersquad! we will all likely die in the morning! :D" luke runs back to his ship where he can be heard tinkering and swearing at himself through the night. A reminder: sunday at 2pm pacific 5pm eastern, we set out for the cultist camp in hopes of finding galeru's lost eggs, luke's lost crew and sail, and any information that might lead to the location of the 6 other keys to free gnogg from the grasp of the mad king keo. 2. The Lost Village With Trellix and Elora suddenly stricken with a sever fever unlike anything the party has seen before, the group decided to blow off some steam attempting to fish in the nether. discouraged by lukes statement that hes never caught anything, the party decided it would be best if they went off on their mission to retrieve the eggs and sail from the cultist camp. deciding to ignore the path the party comes across a small patch of fruit trees and melons some of the fruit seemed edible other fruits rotted almost immediately after being picked and the melons just seemed too threatening in color to eat. the party pressed on through the forest and encountered a fairy circle surrounded by mushrooms that appeared to be a simple lock that was holding a treat (named gleaf) prisoner within the central tree stump. Gleaf the newest member of the party is very eager and happy to help, she reacted to the party as though they were long lost friends, and was well received by the party as well as instrumental in locking up enemy's and providing much needed healing to the group in the ensuing battle at the cultist camp. Upon reaching the camp the party saw luke walking up the trail which it turned out was no problem despite the groups concerns about the safety of the path. he quickly informed the group of his plan and snuck in through the rear of the cultist camp. The party, having scouted the exterior of the camp and even briefly finding a way into the cults living quarters found two of galarus eggs as well as a third smaller egg among the many broken shells and bones of Galarus family.witnessing the gross displays there-in the party decided that the best approach was, rather than a head-on attack, to use the weak wills of the jibbering cultists against them by presenting Galaru's magic image of the mad god keo and EASILY convinced over a dozen of the cultists to join him by leaping towards their death from the edge of the island. With their numbers depleted, the cultists were all too easy for the party to route and lay low. while luke bravely and heroically (with total disregard for his own safty) scaled the statue of keo and retrieved the sail (which was being used as a set decorative wings) while the party finished off the cult in a dazzling display of combat prowess powered by the high impact entrance of Wii THE FLAIL SNAIL!!! luke (who had also noticed one of the hose clamps or whatever the party needed) comes through again delivering the second of 7 keys needed to free Gnogg from the demonic grip of keo the mads soul transference spell. after burning the disgusting remains of the camp to the ground the party headed back to the lost village to regroup. with the intent of spending some time plotting what they can do while they wait for the party members (who are potentially being affected by madness and are at the very least not acclimating well to the bacteria in this new land) wait for NAriaz to do what he can to aid their companions. Iii and Galaru: set about making a trap in hopes of catching a creature so that Iii may tame it use her powers as a monster trainer. The simple trap was easily built by galaru and sits just inside the woods outside camp where they can check on it. Day1: no luck Day 2:still empty. additionally, Galaru shows off his cooking prowess using what little food the party has been able to gather to keep everyone well fed. "this crafty lizard is really proving his worth." says luke. Ariel: in communing with the viper Sar'tax she learns that she can (as a standard action) turn him into a poisoned dagger (that deals 1d6 damage with a 14 fortitude save that if the target fails will take an additional 1d4-1 damage.) Naraiz, Elora, and Trellix: Nariaz using his cleric skills to keep Elora and Trellix in a temporary stasis, confirms the illness to be related somehow to the madness that the group occasionally experiences (most notably when Galaru was temporarily driven mad in the cultist camp). Gleaf: Upon arrival back at the camp she spots the small watering hole between the village and the remains of the old crops nearby, digs her roots into the soil and proceeds in draining the small pool. which she easily does in the following 48 hours. Luke: Isnt hardly seen or heard in the following 2 days (save a few trips between the house hes staying in and the ship, and a few meals he silently enjoys with the group) as he diligently works installing the sail upon the mast of the ship. As the the sails are raised and unfurled for the first time a loud "FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!" is heard by those in village who look out to see the sails are filled with holes large and small. (this is where the next session will begin) 3. The Lost Village part 2 The party following the directive of luke, decided to go visit the baba yaga. It wasn't until after the task was done the party realized maybe Luke doesn't always know whats best. Even with the warning of it being a largely unhelpful and potentially dangerous long-shot the party made its way through the woods to the baba yaga, stopping only to be terrified by the drastic time changes and to have a hard time fishing up crabs. when they reached the hut the baba was not only unhelpful but displeased at the party in their request to both be of service to her and yet not accept her blessing especially after providing them with information they were seeking and being so disrespectful as to squabble in her presence. Enraged she attempted to use their own strengths against them in the form of clay humonuli. clearly our sturdy adventurers proved too strong for her misrepresentations, but the baba is no fool, and also is not tied to any particular plane of existence. In a strangely hasty retreat she flew cackling into a swirling vortex that also took her house and inevitably everything else in the area with it. Is she afraid of the strength of your team? or simply toying with you? While they didnt find what they needed and were put in a horrible position. the party did get to witness luke bumble around the shrine and with intentions of creating a copy of himself accidently created 10. "oh nice! a summoning shrine we can use this thing to make some copies of ourselves and use em to fix the ship! you see folks, what we have here, now listen now.... are ya listnin? ill tell ya, this whole rigmarole here is one of those oooold summoning shrines, dont see a lot of these in the murk, except the dozen or so i've seen, you see these all the time, you seen one you seen am all, theres about... this is the only one. plus the last one i saw" ANYWAY! "a little dab should do it.!" instead of a tiny prick of his finger luke full on gashes himself across the hand. a stream of blood pours into the pool. "That felt... i dont.... feel much............ bout kittens. but that, the way i cut myself, just now, it really sucked for me. and you all just stood there.and let that happen, so we cant all be perfect." 10 of the clay slabs suddenly start to jelly and within a few moments of watching this grusome affair they begin mold themselves around they take on the exact shape and size of luke. as their snap eyes open there's a little slurpy suction sound and you can tell there isn't much going on behind them. "Ooon" they say in turn "nice! an army of mes, i can be my own own best friend. i meen i know i just walked up here and USED this thing, i was originally thinking oh cool another me but THIS!? this is the best crew ever!" "OK! good stuff humoncuMEs off you go, back to the ship you lovable little tikes! make that ship boat shape like a ship, but keep it ship size. so my friends can ride." he slaps one on the ass and says "shippin out... tight ass... nice." they all hang thier heads down and as they slump back to the ship the last humonculus in line knocks the small alter over spilling the contents onto the floor. "oh thats convenient, real nice luke, you turd, now we cant make me a first mate. Get better at being me, you goon." the offending homonculi seems to take the order and gets a little perk in its step as it walks out. "ooon" he says. "looks promising. welp nothing useful for the sail then so im getting pretty bored here. any ideas from the "it crowd" Dispite its sails being ripped to shreds the ship now has a (slow) crew. Luke: sleeps like a baby as his crew shuffles about doing all the work he had been planning on doing. Trellix: having awoke from his coma, is still not feeling well, though seems to be recovering. he spends the whole night attempting to some small success to find rest. Iii: Through the embrace of gleafs power (whatever they may be) Iii awakens though is drained physically and spend the night resting near wii who stood faithfully beside its master. Nariaz: spends a good portion of the evening in deep prayer, he didn't look so good when you saw him head to bed Galaru: goes to bed early in hopes of waking with time to continue working on the ships galley. Ariel and sartax: in their communion Ariel begins to understand some of the most basic "mad" runes, even elora who knew the runes well was unable to utilize this book. though gleaf seemed to exactly what they were and how they worked. Working with sartax she manages to light one of the runes which begins to display an image above it: A warrior bearing a shield and flanged mace steps though a dark cloud. red and purple lightning streaking across the sky, the warrior alights atop some debris flaoting in the darkness. suddenly, the image of keo rushing through the void almost makes Ariel fall out of her chair with fear. Screeching, the beast charges the warrior, but he sands fast. Keo crashes upon the shield and the warrior stands unmoved as behind him grows an image of the goddess Sarenrae. Using the holy symbol on his shield the warrior pushes back against Keo, knocking him to an island wherein a circle of runes surrounded by white robed followers adorned with the symbols of Sarenrae stood ready and waiting. Keo, guided by the rays bursting forth from the shield crashes into the cairn stones and begins to slowly stand as he freezes in place. The image fades away. This bit of knowledge seems to awaken something in sartax he is now able to turn into a dagger as a free action and the poison will hit if you beat the target creatures ac by 2 or more (1d6+1 then if beat ac by at least 2 an additional 1d4-1). "I LOVE THESE GUYS! They remind me a lot of me. The handsome good looks, the style and flair, the way the walk around saying Ooooooon all the time. But, the thing that makes me think of me when i see them lookin at me the most is in the way that they are exact copies of me." -Luke on his new crew 4. The Lost Village part 3 In an effort to find a way to repair the sails on Luke's airship, the party set out into the woods in search of the Baba Yaga a vile witch who, despite Luke's feeling that she is evil and largely unhelpful he seemed to think that it was the party's best bet. on the way the party wandered into what was clearly an ambush situation as the came in close to inspect a broken cart along the canyon road. the gnolls fought with fervor but were mostly washed away by a landslide created by Gleaf the mysteriously powerful treant discouraged, and bruised from a battle well fought, the party decided to venture back to the temple village to regroup. They could not have known that one more night would prove too much for Elora. The nigh constant prayers of Nariaz have gone unanswered, perhaps the mercy of his deity Saron-Rey does not reach this twisted plane. Nariaz: As Elora passes her faithful companion fades into misty shadow as her breath falls silent. Torin's journal, once dimly lit by the runes adorning its cover has fallen dark and is once again sealed. Heartbroken, Nariaz Redoubles his efforts meditating deeply, pleading to Saron-Rey to spare the life of Trellix Rin who remains unconscious but stable. Sartax and Ariel: Takes interest in the journal, and encouraged Ariel to take the book, keep it close and safe. Nariaz agrees and gives the journal to Ariel. Sartax is now the only hope of unlocking the books secrets. Luke: Continues to work on the Pity's Pride muttering, swearing, drinking, and occasionally staring stupidly into the darkness. Gleaf: Mourning the departed Elora, Gleaf enturns the witches body into the soil beneath the town soon after a few flowers sprung from the ground at her grave. Iii: Spends the night tending to her wounded companion Wii, thankful her friend was able to escape the gnolls onslaught with her life, and happy to see the snail recovering. Galaru: Spends most of the evening into the night fiddling with the 3 broken burners on the stove aboard the pity's pride. While he doesn't have luck in getting any of them to wo operate in good working order, he does manage to clean the area and pull together a galley and take inventory of the available food and gives each party members two days worth of rations., Each party member now has two days worth of rations. if you have any rations, fruits, vegetables, or meats in your inventory surly your PC has consumed them by now. from now on each day you will need to eat. Galaru may turn any few items you might find that on their own will barely sustain you into rationed daily meals. through his cooking ability, Galaru will be in charge of managing and carrying your food and ration storage. this doesn't mean you cant store rations or bits of any type of food you find in your own inventory, simply enabling Galaru to cook the items will make them work more in your favor. The trap: remains un-sprung Sticky bun bait: appears to have been nibbled. 5. Into the Darkness: Soon after rising to prepare for the days journey, the party is greeted by a cleric who walks into the village he once knew to be filled with the protectors of the temple. Shocked to find the villagers gone and in their place our ragtag group of adventurers, as much as they were compelled to quickly accept the companionship of each other, the party so to accepted this newcomer into their group and quickly learned of each others purpose in the madrealm. Sir Rekkanthous Sandor, Warpriest and captain of the guard of the followers of Sarenrae and heir of his grace, Lord Quintus Tarken Sandor, Conduit of the Everlight. The champion that sealed Keo the mad's physical form inside the temple and entrusted Torin the scholar with keo's soul, locked within the ghar stone has come to investigate some troubling rumors hes heard. Rekk Learned of the party's unfortunate companion, Gnogg, trapped in the temple and their need to find the keys in order to free him. The party learns that Rekk, having learned of the crack in the sky and has comes via a ritual preformed by his order to investigate and is deeply disturbed to hear that something is stiring within the temple. In an effort to learn more about these potential ally's he agrees to go out in search of the needed materials the party will need for the keys and is indeed pleased when he see's the party's temperance, caution, diplomacy, and battle prowess when forced into a tough situation. Indeed he was right to trust these people. The party, moving forward with compassion (despite their previous experiences) approach a group of gnolls, and easily befriend them with their kindness and simple offering. The gnolls, impressed by the humble display of the party offered a piece of solace to aid their journey in this dark land in the form of a stone tablet that protects the bearer from the persisting fog of madness that looms ever present. Afterwords the party quickly stumbles across an Ahriman lurking about the open woods but upon slaying the creature run into a new threat, the man in black, Flag and his dark beast Sasha. He speaks "You are stealing my hunt." a tall grey haired man in a black coat, walks out of the forest, he is accompanied by a large dark beast, with glowing eyes, " You are stealing my hunt and the worse crime your dragging that useless fool around." Luke: "Now, Now, everyone just relax, no one is stealing anything, you cant steal whats rightfully already your own property to begin with, and we claimed this shitsack long before you strolled out of the forest looking all madrealm avaunt guard." "I think you owe me a thank you Luke." "A thank you!? i thought you were immune to the madness Flag, "the man in black", like your some kind of popular theater icon-o-graph type fellah, whuh Wha whu wawawa why in the fuck (pause for emphasis) would i ever thank you?" "Because ive bought your debt." "That little shit.." luke mumbles "Maybe you'll be a little nicer to your new owner, now that you know im your only way home." he holds up a small runed tablet. "First of all we both know there's other ways home, but yes you are really inconveniencing me at the moment. I'll tell you what, you follow us back to town proper, i give you the 1422 gold pieces and you give me that boat ticket" "The debt was 1600, and now come to think of it im gonna need 2000. Its been a lot of trouble finding you." "OK well that's not happening, so you know what? Why don't you keep the ticket, and were just gonna take our prize and leave. its worth more than 2k anyway, to a man like you that knows how to use it and all. so im sure youll be able to recoup your cost" "i will keep this "sign of travel" that you shouldn't have had in the first place as still dont know what its called. ill also have the money, the kill, and all your friends heads as well." "dammit..... well guys i hope we've become friends because ive fought this guy before and right after i was resuscitated i vowed that the next time i crossed paths with this jerk id have some meat shields to distract him while i ran. but im amending that vow today because. FUCK THIS GUY!" Luke lifts his arm and pulls a cord on his belt and an arrow flies true hitting its target dead center for the killing blow,... unfortunately he was aiming at the tree next to flag having not adjusted for the width of his own arm. perhaps one less sip of pisswine before leaving? "Sasha. (The dark beast raises her head) kill." after a harrowing battle: Luke: "OK i may have misjudged this scenario a bit." he pulls out the large humming weapon sparks flying, a high pitch squeal coming from a centrifuge in the center and points it at flag who stops his advance and waits. "you can fuck right off sir, back into the woods" flag puts his hands up smiling "and were keeping the smelly cat with its entrails all out and stuff too" flag never breaks eye contact with luke "go on, fuck off." flag begins to step backwards "i was just going to kill you, mmmmmmmm, but now... another day, then." he seems to blend with the shadows and like liquid vapor rolls back into the darkness of the trees. You hear a whisper behind your ear. "...another day." The party returns to the forgotten village plus +17 meat, +1sasha hide, a pile of large cat bones and guts, +1 hallowed out ahriman, +1 protective stone tablet and +1 of the keys to keys temple gates but -1 Nariaz. Even Gleaf (who has demonstrated great healing prowess) was not able to save Nariaz once the madness took hold. "He will be sadly missed by all who knew him." says Trellix. That night: Rekk and Luke: Rekk enters the temple. slowly investigating the lived in entry hall, the triggered defense system in the hall of elders, the small inner temple of Sarenrae ransacked of all its artifacts and the waters of its baptismal pool muddied and grey, his expression sinks as he stares through the bars of the sealed gate and lays eyes on the greatest enemy his family has ever known, Ahm Keo'verus Ghar the demon king of madness. He recalls the great epics in which his ancestor ............ lead his army into battle against keos minions who were besieging the orders stronghold and blessed with the divine favor of Sarenrae imprisoned keo behind these very gates. He breaths a sigh of relief when he sees the focus of the link binding Keos soul to the ghar stone is just some stupid gnoll. "not a lot of sustenance there." He relaxes only a little, satisfied there may be time to find the keys a He knows these keys are high profile and through the divine will of the dawn-flower his just task will and must be completed should all life be safe from madness. While exiting and walking back into town near the dock he bumps into luke who apologizes for having stolen the items he was smuggling back out of the madrealm (even though hes really only sorry he got caught). Rekk asks luke about Flag: "Hes a mega asshat, and hes all types of magic, as magic as a cockatrice riding a unicorn in a magic pride parade. Hes like........*drool* (Rekk waves his hand in front of lukes face* ...unkillable, but when i showed him this little guy. (he quickdraws his "superweapon" and it churns and screeches to life, sparks flying from its spinning gizmos and sings soflty "little guy"). He knew i had finally built something that could hurt him so bad his children would crap blood" his dark beast sasha: "That crazy thing has been with him forever, ive seen it kill bunches of people flashing around like it does, not surprised he barely reacted to it being killed, asshole that guy." How did he flag gets luke's stone of travel: "well what happened was, i got really, really, really, really high. and i lost the money i brought with me to hire a crew in a game of go, at this... reputable establishment i frequent about... its uhhh... that? way?" luke makes a vague gesture mostly at the ground but nowhere in particular. "anyway i kind of pawned the stone with the bartender for the money to hire the crew, you remember them the ones that were in pieces on the other side of the forest." Iii: While enjoying the companionship of her bestie Wii she begins to realize that something about her bond to the snail has changed, the connection they share has always felt both comforting and constricting. Something about absorbing the huge ball that is an ahrimans eye-brain has stretched the bond. Wii and Iii longer fully spend the others move action. If Iii gives the order for Wii to move as her first move action, Iii may then move as many feet as she is able in a turn minus Wii's completed movement. (i.e if Iii has a move of 30ft. Wii moves 10 feet, Iii can move the other 20). perhaps absorbing other things in this realm will grant farther abilities, but more importantly how did Wii know to do this? Did she know? Iii wonders silently. Galaru: Sleeps early and wakes during the night to continue work in the galley, he removes the gas components of the stove and turns the empty space into a small fire pit. The large oven on the stove works and is now wood powered. Ariel: Communing with Sartax over Torin's journal. The pair manage to reveal a few bits and pieces from the book, 1. The book opens, on the left page the tale end of a section talking about how he must allow Elora more responsibility in the temple but after last time when she pulled that hedgehog from one of the runes, he just hasn't been able to make himself trust her alone in her studies. Elora's birth date scrawled on the side of the page. the bottom half of the page ripped out and behind it they see the bottom half of two runes. on the right page is a recipe for butterscotch brownies. 2sugar, 2butter, 2flour, 1chocolate (makes 6, +3 hp each when consumed) the rest of the page covered in small doodles and long form math equations. 2. the book opens again to two pages that detail the land that existed in this realm before Keo, a fiery core surrounded by large islands loosely floating around it. as well as sketches of some of the plants you've seen here including drawing of the melons on the vine outside of town referring to them as "hunger melons". As Ariel closes the book and runs her hand along the outline of the runes on its cover Sartax, wrapped around her wrist begins to meld and stretch up Ariel arm across her back attaching himself to her shoulders and down the other side before wrapping around her her opposite wrist, as this happens Ariel stands, her right arm a long, fanged dagger on her left, a small buckler of smokey green haze forms on her wrist. (NOW: as a swift action Ariel melds with her familiar gaining the Sartax dagger, a shield granting +2ac as well as +1 dex and +1con as sartax attaches to her shoulders.) (she also realizes that if she uses two spell slots for a level 0 spell she gets unlimited casts of that spell.) Gleaf: If a treant were capable of weeping the party would see it this evening, solemnly she roots near the pond drying it up once more. Trellix: cleans out a house in town repairing the windows and doors, having spent most of the day chopping firewood he enjoys his warm hearth and breaths deep as he sits in a char near the crackling flames. He must stay calm for he fears anxiety and stress might bring back the madness. His thoughts still haunted by the nightmares he witnessed during his coma. The ships crew: works through the night skinning, cleaning, and stretching the ahrimans leather. and use the scraps to repair the sail. Supplementing parts of the bottom foot of the sail. the humonculi manage to repair most of the holes and stitch the larger tears back together. "you wouldn't think they would know how to do this stuff, but there they go. Good night you princes of me, you kings of notmuchsinceiruleyou." -Luke 6. The vast expanse With the Pity's Pride in decent working order, crewed, and stocked, the party along with Gleaf, Luke, and his 10 humonculukes set out with a vague heading towards of a place luke had in mind to find more information (possibly), setting sail into the vast black expanse. After only a few hours of travel the humonculukes suddenly pulled the ships sails and manually took over the ship and docked at a small island cave. "Oooooooon!" they insisted. and indeed there was Ooon, an ancient mutated ahriman. Whos juices had secreted into the rock and clay of the island granting it special life giving properties. After descending into the cavern battling the tentacles even losing a humonculuke to one, the party made its way into the antechamber where Ooon once freed from its stand by its tangled appendages rolled into battle and consumed Iii. Valiantly. the party stood strong slaying the beast and freeing Iii from its stomach. The party cleared the cavern of its bones and clay absconding with the corpse and eye of Ooon as well as one of the 7 keys to Keos gate that they found on one of the dismembered corpses. a lucky find! coincidence? The party under the leadership of Captain Luke continue their journey into the darkness, trusting that this man who has spent his life navigating this place knows where to find some useful information on the whereabouts of the 3 remaining keys. 6 days pass. Sometimes its hard to tell if the ship is even moving but as it occasionally sails past small chunks of rock they can tell they they are at least making some sort of forward progress. HOW DO WE SPEND THIS TIME? we have options: Gleaf: moves slowly about the ship digging in her roots occasionally and repairing some of the wooden pieces of the bow and hull. patching small holes with a tangled web of roots. She spends a noticeable amount of time staring at the crack in the sky, a worried expression on the area we accept is her face. Luke: Switching on and off with his humonculukes resting as necessary but spending as much time at the helm as possible pushes on. making slight corrections. he seems to have no map, compass, or any defining astronomical features to follow and yet seems very confident he knows right where the ship is and is headed. The humonculukes: take all of Lukes commands: cleaning and repairing, keeping his heading when he rests and various task sorting and organizing the boxes of random ship parts as well as other menial tasks aboard the ship. They generally follow the commands of the party though as they are forged from Luke himself always look for conformation from their "father" before performing whatever task is laid before them. LEVEL UP! Ariel: you are now level 4. but you have a choice to make. Sartax who had been using some of the runes in the book to grant Ariel powers only obtainable through the school of magic used in demonic circles within the mad realm, uncovered the source of some of these spells in Torins journal. The pages he is able to open before Ariel show a ritual performed by Lord Quintus Tarken Sandor and one of his followers known as Tiberius Stormwind of Draconia. The ritual, when performed by a follower of Saronrae negates the maddening effects of the runes and imbues the subject of the ritual with great combat prowess. It seems Tiberius was able to meld with his familiar amplifying their powers. until now sartax had only been able to use some of these methods in their crudest form. THE RITUAL: to perform this ritual you need to be mentally prepared. this means you must have the ability to gain and receive new power (how convenient that a level increase is the perfect time for this). Having already used some of the techniques to form the dark pact and being prepared to push forward in their training by way of sacrificing a levels worth of FEATS SPELLS and FAVORED CLASS BONUS Ariel and Sartax with the help of Rekk may preform this ritual to instead gain the following: 1. One EXTRA hit dice (must be rolled) of hp 2. Dark Arcane Bond: Ariel and Sartax can now complete their union granting them the full strength of the bond. This means: As a swift action Ariel melds with her familiar gaining the Sartax dagger, a shield granting +3ac. +1 dex +1con +1 int. +5 hp +10 base movement speed and +1 to will saves (as long as they are bonded.) 3. While the bond is in place Ariel will be able to cast two new abilities. Shed skin: once daily Ariel may step out of her old skin leaving a copy of herself in the location the spell was cast. The copy (no ac, 1 hp) as long as it remains intact may switch places with Ariel from ANY distance at ANY point during a combat (even if its not your turn). Venom Nova: (this takes a spell slot and must be prepared daily) Ranged touch attack. Ariel performs a spinning strike all targets within a 5 foot radius are hit with 1 d8 damage and must perform a con save of 10+caster level (14). if failed the targets are sickened ( -2 on all rolls) for 1 hour * The ritual will take 5 days to perform and Rekk and Ariel must both be willing. * * If Rekk refuses and you choose to do the ritual without him you will gain the same effects however you will forever be stricken with madness. the effects of which are not immidiatly apperent* * if you choose not to do the ritual you may level as normal and decide how you spend the full 6 days on the ship. * Galeru: you are now level 4, but you have a choice to make. After spending the first two days improving the ships galley and digging through the junk stored within you have assembled the parts to make a mobile hibachi grill. By focusing you new power into this grill instead of your bardic studies you may be able to use it as a conduit to improve your bardic cooking powers. by way of sacrificing a levels worth of FEATS SPELLS and FAVORED CLASS BONUS you will be able to create the item and the performance you've been dreaming of. IF you choose to make the sacrifice and spend 3 (in addition to the first 2) days building and practicing you will gain the following abilities: 1. Food Prep: as a standard action you may instead of a bardic performance quickly setup the hibachi grill, light the fire and in a dazzling display of chefery the world has never seen select 5 food items to splay upon its surface and begin performing the art of inspirational cooking. any one PC of your choosing within 30 feet of this action will receive a 1d4 -1d10 (based on the variety of ingredient and story told about the way you are cooking them) bonus inspiration die to their next die roll. while working the grill you may move at half speed (10ft) as you push the grill around. though you can break away from the grill to move at full speed. leaving it behind and being unable to perform the cooking spells. 2.'''Burning Hands: DAILY''' '''School''' evocation [fire]; '''Level''' sorcerer/wizard 1 '''Casting Time''' 1 standard action '''Components''' V, S '''Range''' 15 ft. '''Area''' cone-shaped burst '''Duration''' instantaneous '''Saving Throw''' Reflex half; '''Spell Resistance''' yes Once per day A cone of searing flame shoots from your hibachi grill. Any creature in the area of the flames takes 1d4 points of fire damage per caster level (maximum 5d4). Flammable materials burn if the flames touch them. A character can extinguish burning items as a full-round action. 3. RANGED cure light wounds. DAILY. http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/c/cure-light-wounds Once per day. For every 2 items flung off the grill and into the hand or mouth of a PC within 40ft will cast cure light wounds (+1d8 hp +4) on them. 4. Surprise Flavor: roll a performance check and for every point over the dc (20 - caster level (4) (so 16 for this level)) you may launch an ingredient at high speed towards an enemy for 1 d4 damage. failed rolls fizzle and will simply keep the ingredients on the grill (unless its a NATURAL 1 or 2 then the ingredients are flung about uselessly). 5. Inspirational cooking: as a standard action add ingredients onto the grill (maximum 5 total) and fling them about with expert precision. any one PC of your choosing within 30 feet of this action will receive a 1d4 -1d10 (based on the variety of ingredient and story told about the way you are cooking them) bonus inspiration die to their next die roll. 6. THE GRAND FINALE! DAILY if a creature is bloodied and within a range of 30ft you may as a standard action attempt to fill them to bursting by flinging all 5 food items on the grill down their throats. (your performance roll 5x vrs thier cmd) upon success the target explodes killing them instantly. * if you choose not to build the grill you may level as normal and decide how you spend the full 6 days on the ship. * You may perform any other available actions you have while manning the grill. Rekk: You are now level 4, but you have a choice to make. Helping Ariel in the ritual is not without its rewards, for the book details how even the caster is imbued with extra might and knowledge about the vulnerabilities of creatures in the mad realm. if you choose to help Ariel with the ritual you will be given in addition to your normal level gains: 1. One extra hit dice (must be rolled). 2. One inspiration point (reroll any d20 roll a second time) 3. A bonus against any creature imbued with the power of mad runes: an attack with your holy symbol (shield) against a creature who is imbues with the power of madness will deal 1d4 extra damage and stun the creature for 6 seconds (1 round). * if you choose not to help Ariel or Ariel refuses the ritual you may level as normal and decide how you spend the full 6 days on the ship. * * should you choose to aid in the ritual you will be performing acts (though also performed by your ancestor) are frowned upon by your order. who believe little good can come from tampering with dark magics.* * The ritual will take 5 days to perform and Rekk and Ariel must both be willing. * Iii: You are now level 4, but you have a choice to make. Bringing Ooons eye aboard the ship has made Wii act very strange. In its presence Wii paces around glancing at it and looking back toward you for approval. You must decide weather or not to allow Wii to consume the eye as it did with the smaller ahriman. Unsure of what might happen, Wii seems to be resisting its temptation but is consumed by its hunger. This is a desirable food item for the snail, she will not leave it alone and within a few days she will no longer be able to resist the temptation of eating it. You must choose to either destroy it or allow her to consume the eye and which (1st-6th) day you allow her to do so or not. (she will consume it regardless soon if it still exists and she has access). *if you choose to destroy it you must state how you destroy it.* *should you let her consume it the result will be unknown.* *upon deciding and witnessing the effect you may choose how to spend the remaining time on the ship.* Luke on the 6th day: "Just another... (2 minutes pass) ...few hours and we will arrive at our destination, the only and by default best food and drink in all the madrealm, Millyway's the tavern on the edge of existence! I have some business to attend to and im sure its a great spot to find some leads for how to rebuild your bicycle or whatever." Please respond with your RP in this thread and continue to post additional information in the other scheduling thread. we will roll hit dice at the beginning of our next meeting (remember you can take half instead of rolling). i know bill and mick will nail their leveling properly so if Travis and Natalie have any questions please direct them at one of us. 7. Ooon! Wii's not dumb. She knows what she should and shouldn't eat. Who am I to keep her from something that makes her happy? On the first day, after a half an hour or so of watching her hold herself back from it, I tell her, "dig in, cutie." And she does. As she slowly noms down the eye you being to notice that she is growing larger. Her shell By the time she finishes, over 12 hours later she stands a towering 7ft tall and is now over 9 feet in length. She is now considered Large (long) creature and will do the damage of a large crushing object while falling on or rocketing through a creature. She will roll 2 total hit die (must be rolled) this level. How do you spend the next 5 days? also, "All kittens are dead" Michael Lisieski, Today 6:09 PM #noncanon Galeru (with immeasurable excitement) pets and coo's his new battle hibachi grill. Like a jedi builds his light saber, a dragon chef must construct his mobile kitchen. In the noble traditions of his people, standing before his completed masterpiece he smashes his head against the warming surface (creating a satisfying thunk with a little sizzle), knocking some meta game out of his too encumbered head. As the master says, you must first empty the tank before if can be filled again. As the impact reels his mind away from this world, he finds himself in the middle of a Vision of the Delicious. The Most Delicious! He had heard his elders speak of the tastes, but he never could have imagined! As he comes to laying on the floor surrounded by a couple of curious and slightly worried humonculukes, he savors the diminishing flavors rolling across his tongue and sending shivers all the way down his tail. There is no sadness in his soul to return to this world, but an eagerness to practice what he had learned from his brief glimpse into perfection. He immediately sets out to cook a feast for the crew and his new found friends in celebration. +1.43 hunger reduction as he can taste with his mind +1 friendship and celebrations +1 concussion protocols (provided nik's blessing of course...) Rekk spends the first day reflecting on the trials he has faced so far and the new companions he is with. While uncertain of the motives of Luke or the veracity of his claims, he believes those belonging to what Luke has called "The Monster Squad" to be sent by Sarenrae to help purge the dark from this realm. Saving their friend seems a worthy cause if it means being able to rely on their support in restoring order to this mad realm. He writes letters on parchment using a glowing golden ink, utters a prayer and watches them burn. Unsure if they'll make it home, he prays the Everlight shall shine the way. The rest of the day is spent speaking with the crew and constructing a small shrine. On the second day Rekk receives Ariel's request and asks for time to consider. He spends time reading Torin's journal and confirms his suspicions; this magic mixes the pure light of the divine with the unpredictable nature of the arcane. Rekk's order, the Champions of the Everlight, has proscribed engaging in any magicks that may muddy the pure light of the Dawnflower. But Rekk has never been one to follow dogma without question. Believing that his ancestor would not have performed this ritual if it went against the will of Sarenrae and knowing that Mad Realm must be purged whatever this new threat may be, he decides to help Ariel and Sartax perform the ritual. After spending hours of meditation preparing divine components necessary for the ritual and steeling his mind against the effects of the Mad Realm, he seeks out Ariel and Sartax to begin the ritual. Centered between 4 arcane "mad" runes Ariel and Sartax combine in the same way they had been able to do since Sartax first discovered the beginning of the spell, as this happens the runes begin to change and shift. It appears that these runes are meant to adjust themselves at each stage of the ritual. Ariels eyes roll back into her head and hear mouth gapes open, the voice of Sartax (to the point only heard in Ariel's mind) is now audible to Rekk and anyone who steps near over the next few days. "w 'asbah ladayna shakhsiat min aljunun , nahn wahid, w'nahn kullah, nahn mawjudun fihalat min alfawdaa , wanahn ealaa alzzalam , wanahn byrs vail , nahn kamilat." As the days pass Sartax melds into Ariel and she begins to take on its markings, forming scales along her shoulders and down her arms. On the final day of the ritual, Rekk, standing by for this very moment sees a dark spirit begin to form, its smokey tendrils floating towards a point at the base of Arie'sl skull. He chants: "Dorhahm nehotarne elohier, i swear my enmity upon thee, creature of the damned!" He thrusts forward his shield, glowing with the power of his faith, the creature shrieks in agony and is blown away, back into the darkness. Quickly Rekk moves forward and inscribes the holy symbol of Sarenrae on the back of Ariel's neck. Set on each side of the symbol two glyphs appear. As the one the right, (a symbol heavily used in the temple of Ahm Keo'verus Ghar which Sartax knows to be the mark of the mad king) forms, Sartax can be heard saying: "Forged in darkness." The symbol of Sarenrae glows. "Judged by the light" to left of the symbol the final glyph forms that according to Torin's journal means union. "Sent forth to punish the wicked." The runes marked on the deck of the ship darken and fade away. Ariel slowly stands, her eyes set back in their frames are now that of a snake. she smirks and promptly passes out. Rekk carry's her to her bunk below deck, where she sleeps a long dreamless sleep. During the ritual, while scanning the pages in the journal that can be opened, Rekk sees that the word sartax means deceit. In the version of the story of Tiberius passed down through Rekk's order there was mention of the familiar that was bonded those long years ago as a "deceitful ally". As well as a story set during the war as the front moved into Keos twisted realm of a demon who dared defy Keo and was cast out of his enclave, disgraced by all demonkind. It would seem that the name was given to the viper by the mad king himself. also, all the kittens come back to life! Sarenrae be praised! #noncanon. 8. A Tavern? In This Place? Gone but not forgotten. The precocious scamp, our humble guide Ludicrous Luke has been lost into the abyss. Having displayed great fighting skills and going the way he would have wanted, firing a giant ridiculous energy weapon. Perhaps the greatest captain sailing these black seas was blown off the cliff where he stood his final stand against his arch nemesis Flag, the man in black. Luckily before flag was turned into a fine pink mist by the blast of Luke's BFG Luke cut lose flags satchel containing some valuable pieces of information. It would seem flag was interested in collecting the keys, already having two in his possession and seemed to have a lead on the location of a third. As well as Luke's stone of travel. The day at Millyways was rather eventful even it weren't for the apparent demise of the groups guide. The party had made a great impression upon the patrons and workers in the bar. Winning the arm wresting contest hosted by their lost friend Gnash who had come to slash, providing food and drink for the whole establishment and even making peace with a dangerous group of bandits hanging around the back. They honored the local vendors with generous gifts and entertained everyone with this feats of fine cooksmanship and whistle blowing. It would seem the party has inherited Lukes ship and crew, and in their desire to outfit it for combat has made a deal with Bleen the taverns owner to clear of the undead in the basement, in exchange for some armaments. Rekk: Spends the evening in prayer, humbly beseeching Sarenrae to accept Luke (be he a sinner) into the light her loving dawn. Later in his slumber, he witnesses a dream, a vision of a white flower, a crack splits and climbs the stem, leaves falling off the sides, the petals wilting as the seasons rapidly change behind the image. Ariel: Exerts her alpha dominance over the lukes, not be be outdone by some whistle tooting racoon, she spends the evening ordering the lukes about the ship, having them double clean everything she sees. "You missed a spot." maybe this is just how she deals with grief? In any case she seems to have won the political battle with Iii as the lukes seem to have adopted her as the new captain. Iii: Cuddles up in a pile of raccoons and rat, and sleeps a long relaxing sleep down below the ships deck. She wakes in the morning to find 2 cups of goat milk and a note addressed to her sitting just on the edge of the ship: "Sometime you me go bang some rocks maybe? <3 Fleeble" Galeru: Headed back into the bar for a while before turning in for the night and using some of the kitchens goods puts on show for the late crowd. Dicing, slicing, chopping and tossing. Bits of meat and vegetables dance around his hibachi. He ends launching a pepper mill into the air, doing a back flip and catching it in his chefs hat. Hes arms raised *stuck the landing* style. The small group of people watching cheer with excitement and shower him with coins tossing them into the air Galeru slaps each one with a whip of his tail and popping them up into his hat with the pepper mill. Even grumpy old Bleen seems impressed slowly clapping from the top balcony. Galeru collects 4gold 3silver and 5 copper pieces. Galeru (with a modest shrug) assures everyone that they were quite stuffed for about 2.734 days from the glorious feast he prepared on his brand new hibachi grill (of destiny) just after it's creation. Some even said that the glorious singing coming from the galley during the preparations was something of a first course; a deep and rich baritone full of savory overtones complimented by a zestful zip, clang, bang of pots, pans and knives dancing through the air. Oh, (shrug and chuckle) and the food tasted good, too. 9. Millyway's (tm) "The Tavern at the Edge of Existence." Our still nameless party delves into the ruined catacombs beneath the tavern, in order to put back together a damaged inhibitor installed by crusaders of the everlight. Designed to keep the spirits locked within the tainted earth at bay, the inhibitor had a orb that floated upon it that was accidentally bumped off by little fleeble, and for the promise of 50 gold and some cannon balls the party was all to eager to face the undead minions dwelling in the catacombs. They first came across "Frank" a volatile zombie chef, resurrected with his passion for cooking as his only connection to his days as a human. Despite putting on a fantastic performance he had once again failed to please the taste buds of his customers and in a fit of anger burst at the seems leaving behind a giant mess and his lucky chefs hat. The party stormed the jail area picking a fight with the shamblers locked in their cages. Taking them on in a steady organized stream and laying the monsters to their final rest. At the base of a long stairwell down in an unfinished part of the tombs lay that which inhibited, the party made quick moves to place it back atop its pedestal, instantly cleansing the tombs. While searching the construction site, Iii sees a golden beetle and dives down, digging into the earth and catching it in a bottle, later he would sell the little guy for a nice pile of coin. Having cleansed the area the party heads into the antechamber at the back of the tombs, past the undead corpses littering the halls. The party finds the work space of "The Librarian" and manages to pick up some of his old spells from one of the only intact books left in the study. Having been compensated for their mission the party loaded up the ship, and with Fleeble and his animals in tow set sail into the darkness. It takes nearly a full day for the party to realize they don't exactly know how to follow the crude map they found in Flag's satchel with no stars or compass to guild them the party in effectively "lost at sea". Standing on the deck Iii and Rekk notice a nether reys fly past, and another, and another, peering out into the darkness Iii sees something terrible approaching. "IT"S A SWARM!" she yells. It is here, with a massive school of nether reys baring down on the ship that our last installment ends and the next begins. 10. THE SWARM The massive swarm of nether reys bore down upon the Pity's Pride, swooping and chirping, they crashed upon the ship like a great wave. Some slamming into the ship's hull, many of them diving onto the rotting carcass of Ooon. As the swarm passed the emboldened crew of the Pity's Pride took to attempting to catch as many as they could, and were greatly successful. Having managed to rake in 6 of the beasts as they consumed the remains of Ooon, the party sees a rope drape over the bow. realizing its importance, they mostly ignore it in favor of taming nether reys, but the quick thinking of Rekk in ordering the Lukes to stop the ship, proved to be a wise decision in the form of a potential lead in their quest found atop the floating rocks above the ship: Master Vox Machina. I've sent my proxy, Braff, to inform you of terrible events transpiring near the temple of Keo. I have witnessed a rift in time that has negated the effects of the protective cairn around the town of salvation by reverting the town to a time before the cairn existed! I fear that demons may be responsible, as this sort of destructive arcana is not one that any sane person would utilize lightly. As you well know toying with time is something that could rip all of existence to shreds! It seems the villagers have turned to madness and have been spotted worshiping a statue of Keo in the nearby lumber camp, With the villagers gone, the keys to the inner cloister have been stolen and the shrine of Sarenrae has been looted, and even worse this rip in time has caused a large crack to form across the sky! I hope this message finds you well, there must be a way to restore the sanity of the village and find the keys before something terrible happens. Oh what a failure i have become! please send aid before it is too late, -Torin To gain some fresh perspective and talk to Galeru about what they've found, the party decides to take a rest anchored safely to the rocks and re-approach the subject after some needed downtime. 11. The Everflow Spyglass in hand, Ariel pilots the ship along the magnetic flows as they weave across the dark expanse. After several hours journey the tower comes into view. Sitting atop a large moss covered rock, surround by trees baring many fruits, the tower seems to produce it a light source as well as a magnetic field and the ship gently floats to a stop just above the island. Down below the party can see clay workers, just like the bouncers at [[Millyway's]] (tm). They carry around buckets, pick fruit and seem to be banging rocks. A man walks down the tower steps and shouts up the ship, his voice can be heard as though he were just in front of you, "Greeting old friend! Come down Come down! we've much to discuss!" the party correctly assumes that this man, Known as Vax'ildahn [[Vox Machina]], must somehow know Ludicrous Luke. Recognizing Rekk and a Member of the Sandor family line, and a good judge of character, he welcomes the crew to his little slice of madness. The party shares their information regarding the village and temple, and deliver him the bad news of his student Torin's demise. Vox Machina, asks a favor of the party, a short sail to the isle of homestead, the source of [[The Everflow]], a gift from the Godess, [[Matravesh]] to the followers of [[Sarenrae]] for their heroic deeds in this realm. The party restores the wizards water source and he agrees not only to point them towards the magulacrum but gives them a map they will be able to use it. Having cheered him up with a hearty meal, he also begins work on a mighty golum using clay from [[Ooon's cave]]. The party confirms both their suspicions and the information given by Vox Machina that the magnetic rocks must be what keeps things floating through [[Madrealm|the madrealm]] when they discover a few crates floating in the abyss and manages to bring them aboard netting mostly rocks but also some gunpowder, cannonballs and a massive sack of heroin. It has become clear to the party at this point that the ships machinery are based upon magnets. Galeru unlocks the door to Lukes old room claiming it as his new room with no objections from the rest of the party and discovers a trove of Lukes personal effects, most notably a set of wrist mounted weapons (easy money, big country) and crude users manual "A flick of the wrist." written in Lukes own terrible handwriting. After traveling through the darkness for several hours: "Why do demons have aerobics instructors?" "So, his banana pants eat oxygen?" "NO! It's so that ostriches will cross-examine them with a firehose!" Iii an Ariel immediately recognize the voices. The gargoyles, Stitzgurgin and Blurmby, float up to the ship cackling at their strangely constructed joke. as they laugh the crates filled with skeletons from beneath the tavern and the bones for Ooon's lair begin to shake and explode outward across the deck. A skeletal phalanx forms up the deck of the ship... 12. The Magulacrum [[Stizgurgin and Blurmby]]'s skeletal army spread across the deck of the [[Pity's Pride]], but the party is quick to react, clashing with the skeletal warriors with great combat prowess. as the battle turned towards the party favor victory was suddenly assures as [[Vox Machina]] dropped off his newest creation, [[Clunk]] a massive clay golum who proceeds to stomp on the skeletal horde.Victorious, the party sets their sight back to the statues floating in the distance. The party, holding hands and giggling, lept into the portal and bounced out the other side into the ruins of what they think may be an old workshop, given the half built statues and remaining crafting materials left in the rubble. The party comes across a nest of nether rays casually eating the remains of some poor beast. most of the party passes by but Iii stays to observe and interact with them. Galaru utilizes one of the floating stones to slowly bridge the gap between the floating ruins and retrieves the magulacrum from its pedestal and proceeds to the far side of the ruins, stopping to present Ariel who was waiting to receive the device. As he crosses the bridge towards the half contructed statue of [[Sarenrae]], the party suddenly entered a dreamlike state produced by two illithid hiding within the walls of the ruins. Ariel and Iii escape the dream and slay the illithids, the party gathers their wits and loot and head back to the ship. to use the magulacrum, revealing many locations, some they have never seen before. Areil, and Rekk overhear: Galeru shares his experience with Iii: "It was AWEFUL all i ever wanted to do was preform my art for the people, and its just sucked and they HATED it! It was my worst fear realized!" Iii responds.... (Mick please) Iii: Shares her experience with Galeru; "I remembered back when i was young playing with Kii the family koala, it felt just like that terrible day." she pauses in sad silence and remembers being there when poor Kii was Mauled by a bear and relates the horrible experience to Galeru "One thing that was the same was that Wii was there for me when i needed her most." Galeru responds... (Travis please) ☀Galeru tells Lii he is sorry to hear about her friend. That must have been a terrible experience. If we never SNAPPED INTO A SLIM JIM (visible twitch...), we wouldn't truly appreciate a savory beef stroganoff. Maybe you are stronger and braver now because of it, strong enough to never let something like it happen again. And to to truely savor our friends while we have them. In my tribe, our great and wise elders come to a time when they become very much like that bear. I have see our greatest leaders do terrible things because they are no longer themselves, but are powerful forces of nature. It's called the Swell. They are still treated with respect, but we stay far out of their way. Sometimes leaving our village for a time when they wander too close. I have thought a lot about what horrible things I might do when I am transformed into your bear. I hope that someone strong like you will be there to keep others safe and guide me to a safer place when I wander too far or too close. (Galeru offers Lii and her companions sticky buns) WARNING: PLAYER KNOWLEDGE FOR BILL: (anyone can read it but your PC wont know about it unless they are told (except bill/rekk) Rekk: During his evening prayer, he remembers how nervous he was the morning of his induction, and chuckled when he thought about how he asked his classmate D'vid "What if i just up and whang myself in the head or something?!" The reality of what happened that day was that Rekk preformed the rite so well that the way he did it is now the standard used by new initiates. WARNING: PLAYER KNOWLEDGE FOR KNATALIE: (anyone can read it but your PC wont know about it unless they are told (except natalie/ariel) Ariel: Piloting the ship, Ariel, reflects on the dream she experienced. Staring into the darkness ahead, She mumbles, "that's how it should have happened." As she remembers back to the month she spent in jail outside Baulders Gate having been caught stealing fruit from a local vendor. OK ITS SAFE NOW! Please feel free to RP an further storytelling regarding your dreams (or anything you want) below in the RP thread as well as a day spent learning to use the magulacrum while you decide your next destination. 13. Navigating the storm: Into the Lost Lands. 4/4/2016 Excited to be able to read their magnetic charts, the party sets out for the swirling dust cloud shown within the Magulacrum. Upon finding it the party decides to drink themselves into a stupor and brave the swirling sands. This turns out to be a terrible decision. The homonculuke crew was quick to act even in the face of the drunken party members turning off machinery and bumbling about the ship with conflicting views on weather they should press on farther or back out now. Ariel realizes as the ship begins to break apart Clunk and Gleaf desperately holding the ship together. Structural integrity failing she spins the wheel while the mechanic lukes give the engines everything they've got below decks. Luckily they escape the storm and repairs begin immediately. Battered and broken the ship slowly lurches through the darkness towards Master Vox Machina so the party may ask his advice on how to proceed. Swinging by a lived in though currently empty stronghold on the way, they find a pile of corpses and abscond with a large statue of Keo. This turns out to be just the thing they need as Vox Machina explains that they need something to generate a polarity to combat the magnetic force of the dust storm and instructs Clunk to absorb the statue granting him the ability to repel the dust.This works out pretty well for everyone with the exception of clunk, who is withered away to the size of a halfling by way of high velocity magnetic sandblasting. Rising up to the edge of the island the party discovers a vast desert surrounded by mountains and canyons, within the swirling eye of the massive storm swirling above. They dock near a small oasis on the edge of the island. The lukes grumble to each other as they attempt to continue repairs interrupted by the blast of the cannons as Galeru fumbles to learn the ships (shockingly simple and intuitive) controls. Gleaf sails down off the deck and soaks her roots in the oasis pool and begins enjoying the nourishment the spring provides, while the party sets out into the desert towards a small signpost. Just as they approach the sign a misty/sandy storm descends upon the party. Lost they struggle until they submit to the storm and allow it to pass. Sober, the party chooses to take a rest and get their shit together before they are all killed by the cruel forces of madness and booze. 14. The Sands of Time 5/5/2016 GM Nik While traveling the desert searching for clues that might lead them to the key flag thought might be here the party is met by two mysterious strangers. Graven, an elderly gaunt wizard in long flowing robes who seems to be able to manipulate sand. The Ticktok man, a short skiddish fellow referred to by graven as an arcane engineer. Caught up in a battle that seems to have been raging for quite some time, both offer little to no information and hastily request the aid of the party. The party chooses to head towards Ticktok's clock tower, save Galeru who momentarily gets lost and disoriented while attempting to search for more information alone. Upon arrival Ticktok hurries the party towards the battlefield pausing only for a brief moment to retrieve a huge set of claws to mount on top of Wii and assuring Iii how fine and great and wonderful everything was before Graven. The party heavily influences the battle in Ticktoks favor, bursting through the enemy's lines with ease especially Galeru who launches himself from the clock tower's defenses and crashes the back line in a blaze of glory. During the battle: The party notices Ticktoks Mechanical soldiers seem to be unusually affected by Rekk's healing spells. Ticktok and graven clash hand to hand upon the battlefield. Graven blocking the blows from Ticktoks mechanic arms with waves of sand. And Rekk while standing strong against dozens of enemys in the front line is knocked unconscious and dragged inside Graven's giant Hourglass tower by his sand soldiers. The party chases behind... 15. Time and Punishment. 5/15/2016 GmNik Rekk, Battling giant sand beetles, wondering through hazy desert of his own mind, is suddenly pulled back into reality when Ariel's blade splits the small beetle lodged within the war-priest's ear. Finishing off Rekk's captors The party quickly gathers their wits, and ascends the sands to the top of Graven's hourglass fortress. Reaching the top they find the sand mage quite upset, though the party easily finds the way around Graven's trickery, narrowing down the sand form copies exposing the mage. WHEN SUDDENLY... A giant mechanical Ticktok-man bursts through the side of the hour glass, crushing graven in his massive grasping fist and immediately turning his attention towards the party. Quick feet and thought carry Wii up the inside of one of the machines arms and into the control room, there she finds Ticktok so bent on destroying the party he ignores Iii all the way to his quick and bloody end. Fumbling with the controls the party manages to stop the machine bringing it crashing down into the desert. Just in time to witness a trashed, barely held together, and partially flaming Pity's Pride descend to the desert floor. 16. Mad abou-statue, baby. The crew of the Pity's Pride quickly form up on their battle positions. Rushing along the edge of the sandstorm, the ship besieged by cannon fire, boarded by goblin invaders, the crew fights back with everything they've got. A blast of cannon fire tears into the port side of the ship, catching two nether reys in the blast. Horror and panic grip Fleeble, his eyes go dark, his ears ringing with the sound of the blast, he quickly ushers the remaining reys below decks and collapses into a pile of hay. Sobbing, he can't shake the image of the reys body's ripped to pieces before his eyes. Vacant, barely held together, he floats down the hallway, debris blowing past him, he picks up Galerus prized chefs knife. Staring at his reflection in the edge of the blade. He find himself on the ships deck, he looks away from the blade to see Gallywix. {"May i fill your drink sir?" ... "Leave the pitcher and give us a dance orc." ... "S-sorry sir, I'm not much of a dancer." ... "Give him a dance lessen boys!"} Fleeble looks down at his feet, briefly feeling the sting of the holes left by Gallywix's daggers those longs months ago. His vision turns red with anger as he loses all control... The last ship attempts to escape but is taken down by a final volley of the Pride's cannons. As the storm dissipates, with Gleafs roots barely holding the remnants of the ship together, she pulls the wheel around and heads towards the giant robot swinging its arms around in the desert. As the giant mechanical man crashes into the sand she brings the ship down right in the middle of the former battlefield. As the party climbs aboard the ship, much of the desert is crumbling away, falling into the darkness. The broken hourglass and clock tower crumble, and fall into the void. the giant mechanical Tick-tok slides down a river of sand before dropping off the edge. As the dunes fall away the ship sinks down perching itself sideways across a road. The whole island is gone, and in its place a floating path extends off into the darkness. Gleaf turns to Rekk, she appears tired, her leaves mostly shed falling to the deck around her. She lifts a branch and points down the road, Rekk hears a voice (in celestial) "This is your duty my child, these lands will be purged in righteous fire." Gleaf suddenly shrivels and transforms into a large nut. As the voice fades; "Behold, stretching through time itself, The Long Road..." 17. The Long Road Twisting through the darkness, following a flow of clear clean water, the long road stretches off farther than the eye can see. the narrow path turns to twisted wilderness as the party ventures towards what has been recently revealed to be their destiny. Spring, the party came across a mushroom-like creature, seemingly attempting to reach its family on top of a high cliff. The corpse of a large green dragon hangs from the rocks. Iii and Wii escort the little fellah to the top of the cliff. only to watch in horror as he pushes the other mushrooms off the edge to their powdery deaths, and absconds with the dragons essence, the heart of spring. The nexus of time is a powerful magic formed to read the waters of times flow. Near this sits a small temple, home to the watchers, beings who are connected to the aspects of seasons by observing all of time and translating what they see into the emotions and desires of the aspects, essentially escorting the passage of time through its natural course. What the party finds however is these treant watchers, who normally bend and flow with the waters are corrupted, marked by demonic possession. Forcing the nexus to split and fracture the sky. Rekk and galeru in thier misguided attempt to exorcise the watchers, only find themselves battered and bruised and the whole party forced back through time. This turns out to be quite fortuitous for both the party and the mushroom family as Iii destroys the attacking mushroom on sight and is rewarded with a runed celestial stone as a gift from the aspect of spring for saving its servants. the party finds their way back to the nexus, and plant Gleafs seed. upon restoring the stone to its pedestal Gleaf returns to spring and is reunited with the party as the push forward through time. Summer, the road is charred, the trees charcoal, the air ash, lava drips into the darkness and out of sight. Standing stalwart in the center of the path, Charlabu, servent of Sarenrae and the aspect of summer is being subjugated by a small demon taskmaster wielding a whip. The asshole likes riddles and while most of the party puts their heads together to try to solve the demons puzzle. Iii decides to use the demons head instead. As target practice. little shit never saw it coming and charlabu was freed. Giving the party a celestial stone and connecting rekk to a meeting with Sarenrae. Near a bank where the river touches the road, the party finds a mechanical golden beetle who announces a combination and upon completing its task explodes into its mechanical bits. Autumn, A demon feeding upon the aspect of autumn cannot reach any more of the fruit from its rocky holes, it never much cared for the plans of its fellow demons and is quick to trade the celestial stone it guards for some of the fruit out of the reach of its tentacles. A door, isn't so much a door, so much as a viewing device. The door opens to various points in time, including the crusades, the battle between Keo and Sir Quintus Sandor, as well as Gnogg moving to steal the ghar stone. Upon using the correct combination given by the mechanical beetle the party is able to enter a treasure vault but find that none of the treasure can leave the room with them. Disappointed they move the only way they can, forward. Winter, in this frozen length of road time slowly trudges forward, the river flows like slush down a hillside. An old man, rambles on about what he likes and doesn't like, and how everything used to be different. The party brings the old man with them, but time takes its toll and the man passes, leaving behind a runed celestial stone. The party wanders through time, lost in their attempts to find the nexus again, frustrated as time flows on and on, it is only when they move backwards again through time that the way to the nexus becomes clear. At the nexus, the party restores the stones. Returning the souls of the treants and freeing them from their demonic possessors. Immediately they go to work repairing the nexus and allowing Sarenrae into the realm. Her servant Bryla manifests as a massive spinning wheel of flame. It begins reigning fire down upon a nearby island covered in a massive city, the screeching cries of the demon army amassing in the city is deafening. As the fire bombards the land the sky begins to clear and the realm is purged of its demonic charge. The crusades in the mad realm are finally over. Wandering about time a while longer the party works their way to where they thought they had left to the ship. However, instead of the pity's pride they only discover an old tattered note: "We waited as long as we could, sorry, - Fleeble." Ariel sadly sighs, "It must be years old." 18. The realm moves on. 8/25/2016 Searching around the edge of the beginning of the road, Rekk stumbles upon Clunk Jr. who breaks off a hunk of the road and pushes the party toward salvation and the temple of Keo. suspicions that they had been gone a long time were confirmed when they find a group of crusaders lead by Lady Portencia Sandor. who had already freed Gnogg prevented the accidental summoning of Keo the mad. Trellix, Gnogg and a group of gnolls had been living in the village for quite some time before the party finally arrived in town. Upon learning, of the passage of over two years since they had last left Trellix and the village to search for the now very pointless keys. Lady Sandor informs Rekk that there is a heros welcome waiting in his homeland, while Ariel and Iii are just tired or maybe bored of the madrealm, its decided to make a move and exit the madrealm as soon as possible. Galeru silently worries about the condition of his people's eggs and begins to think of ways he can get back to them. Lady Sandor drops the party at Millyways(tm) where they strike up a deal with Bleen and use the portal to transport themselves from the madrealm to an old shrine north east of a small town in the north west corner of Ahnk-morpork. Upon reaching the town the party find that all the villagers are Humonculukes before running into the real deal drunkenly stepping out of an old inn. After reconnecting with their old friend and return his wrist mounted weapons. Gnogg plops down to polish some keys and lands right on a small bug squashing it for 1xp leveling the party to new heights! ERDE: A TOWN OF LUKES